07054
January 26, 2007

U.S. religious leaders call for urgent Mideast peace effort

PC(USA)'s Kirkpatrick is among 40 signers of appeal to Bush

by Chris Herlinger
Ecumenical News International

NEW YORK — Nearly 40 U.S. Christian leaders from traditional and Evangelical churches have joined in urging President George W. Bush to renew efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian stalemate, saying that ending the conflict needs to be an “urgent priority” for the United States. 
 
In a Jan. 23 letter, the leaders from Orthodox, Roman Catholic, “mainline” and Evangelical Protestant traditions said that resolution of the seemingly “intractable” Israeli-Palestinian division would have “positive repercussions” that would “go well beyond” the Middle East. 
 
The leaders said the vision of a “viable, contiguous Palestinian state living as a peaceful neighbor alongside the state of Israel, with both nations secure and recognized by their Neighbors” could “re-ignite a passion for peace that can overcome the appeal of violence, vengeance and exclusivity.” 
 
The letter also asked that Bush work with the international community to resolve the status of Jerusalem, and guarantee religious freedom and access to the city's holy places. That call has been prompted, the leaders said, by the concerns of Palestinian Christians about the construction, by Israel, of a separation barrier that has severed Jerusalem from Bethlehem. 
 
The letter was initiated by Churches for Middle East Peace, a U.S.-based advocacy group. Those signing the letter included Katharine Jefferts Schori, the presiding bishop of the Episcopal (Anglican) Church; Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.); and the Rev. Robert Edgar, general secretary of the National Council of Churches.